A Union County grand jury has returned an indictment against a Berkeley Heights man charged with stealing millions of dollars from his employers during the course of approximately eight years, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced today.
Albert Thomson, 48, was indicted on a single count of second-degree theft by deception.
Thomson was arrested in March following a prolonged Elizabeth Police Department investigation that ultimately revealed the pattern of theft from the Elizabeth-based New England Motor Freight, a large trucking company, and two related companies, Eastern Freightways Inc. and Carrier Industries Inc., according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Ann Rubin, who is prosecuting the case. Part of Thomson’s duties previously involved registering many of the companies’ thousands of vehicles in the various states where they operate, Rubin explained.
Yet at various times from 2005 through 2013, Thomson would allegedly put in registration requests for vehicles that had already been registered, then pocket or spend the checks cut by his employers to cover the costs. Thomson ultimately used the misappropriated funds to purchase a Mercedes-Benz, to rent a residence at the Jersey Shore, to provide himself with a personal trainer, and to pay credit-card bills, among other things, according to Rubin.
The total value of the stolen funds topped $4 million, Rubin said. Thomson currently remains free on $250,000 bail.